Prostitution in the Middle East: Mothers pimp daughers in Iraq

We could predict that a repressed society would produce prostitution. Time magazine is shocked at the Iraqi sexportation industry, but in fact it is a staple of the Arab and Muslim world.

Here's an excerpt from Time's article on Iraq: Iraq's Unspeakable Crime: Mothers Pimping Daughters

By Rania Abouzeid / Baghdad

She goes by "Hinda," but that's not her real name. That's what she's called by the many Iraqi sex traffickers and pimps who contact her several times a week from across the country. They think she is one of them, a peddler of sexual slaves. Little do they know that the stocky, auburn-haired woman is an undercover human rights activist who has been quietly mapping out their murky underworld since 2006.

That underworld is a place where nefarious female pimps hold sway, where impoverished mothers sell their teenage daughters into a sex market that believes females who reach the age of 20 are too old to fetch a good price. The youngest victims, some just 11 and 12, are sold for as much as $30,000, others for as little as $2,000. "The buying and selling of girls in Iraq, it's like the trade in cattle," Hinda says. "I've seen mothers haggle with agents over the price of their daughters." The trafficking routes are both local and international, most often to Syria, Jordan and the Gulf (primarily the United Arab Emirates). The victims are trafficked illegally on forged passports, or "legally" through forced marriages. A married female, even one as young as 14, raises few suspicions if she's travelling with her "husband." The girls are then divorced upon arrival and put to work.

Nobody knows exactly how many Iraqi women and children have been sold into sexual slavery since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, and there are no official numbers because of the shadowy nature of the business. Baghdad-based activists like Hinda and others put the number in the tens of thousands. Still, it remains a hidden crime; one that the 2008 US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report says the Iraqi government is not combating. Baghdad, the report says, "offers no protection services to victims of trafficking, reported no efforts to prevent trafficking in persons and does not acknowledge trafficking to be a problem in the country."

But it is not much different in other Arab and Muslim countries. Those that have stricter laws and better policing form lucrative export markets for their neighbors.

Cross posted: Israel News Middle East Analysis

Continued (Permanent Link)

Wife beating in Islam explained

From MEMRI

December 24, 2008 Clip No. 2006

Egyptian cleric Galal Al-Khatib Explains Wife-Beating in Islam

Following are excerpts from a sermon by Egyptian cleric Galal Al-Khatib, which aired on Al-Rahma TV on December 24, 2008.

Galal Al-Khatib: One of the husband's rights is to discipline his wife if she is disobedient. What does the word "disobedience" mean? Disobedience is to leave the house without the husband's permission, to refuse to obey the husband in bed, to speak to the husband impolitely, or to do the opposite of what he likes. All these are forms of disobedience. Religious law has instated several measures of disciplining a disobedient wife. These measures must be followed consecutively. You cannot jump to the third measure before despairing of the second, and you cannot jump to the second before despairing of the first. The order must be followed. The first measure for reforming a disobedient wife is to admonish her. The husband should talk to her gently, reminding her of God, and reminding her that if she wants to enter Paradise, she must obey him. He must tell her that by pleasing her husband, she pleases God, and that his rights supersede the rights of her parents.

[...]

Okay, if admonishing doesn't work, the next measure is "banishment." Some say that the wife should be banished from his bed, while others say he should refrain from having sex with her, although I do not agree with the latter view, because having sex is one of the rights of the husband, so how can he discipline her by depriving himself of sex? It's enough if he refrains from smiling and saying nice things to her, and instead, he gives her the cold shoulder, but he has the right to have sex with her, even during banishment.

Okay, he's tried admonishing, he's tried banishment – but nothing. Her emotions are numb, and she says: Good riddance. So what is the next measure? "...and beat them." Beating. The Prophet Muhammad said that the beatings should be light, and that one should avoid the face, or the sensitive areas, which might lead to broken bones, or might leave a mark that would spoil her beauty, whether on her face or anywhere on her body. Beatings that draw blood, or break bones, or leave a scar, a black mark on the skin, or any obvious mark, which would make people know that she was harshly beaten – this is forbidden.

How should the beatings go? Maybe a light slap on her shoulder, or maybe a not-so-light pinch, or a kind of gentle shove. He should make her feel that he wants to reform her, and let her know that he is displeased with her. It is like saying: None of the measures that work with sensitive people work with you. A word would be enough for any wife with lofty morals, but with you, words do not help. Then he attempts a new direction, appealing to her femininity and emotions, by making her feel that he doesn't want her or love her. When this doesn't work, he says to her: With you, I have reached a stage which is only appropriate for inhumane people – the stage of beating.

Beating is one of the punishments of religious law. What kind of people are beaten? Virgin adulterers, both men and women, are beaten as a means of discipline. Who else is beaten? A person who committed an offense and was sentenced by the judge to beatings. Who else is beaten? Someone who committed a crime. By beating his wife, the husband is saying: You've committed a grave sin that merits beatings.

Continued (Permanent Link)

Saudi Arabian rape victim gets more lashes

Some of you may remember this story:

Sex, Gender and the Middle East: Happy Women's Day - Saudi Woman gets 90 lashes for being raped

Well we knew it wouldn't end that way, right? Nobody gets 90 lashes for being raped.

There is a sequel. The woman appealed, and will get 200 lashes instead. A gratifying sequel, isn't it?

Here's the story, from the BBC, below.

Ami Isseroff

Saudi gang rape sentence 'unjust'

A lawyer for a gang-rape victim in Saudi Arabia who was sentenced to 200 lashes and six-months in jail says the punishment contravenes Islamic law.

The woman was initially pnished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.

When she appealed, judges doubled her sentence, saying she had been trying to use the media to influence them.

Her lawyer has been suspended from the case and faces a disciplinary session.

Abdel Rahman al-Lahem told the BBC Arabic Service that the sentence was in violation of Islamic law:

"My client is the victim of this abhorrent crime. I believe her sentence contravenes the Islamic Sharia law and violates the pertinent international conventions," he said.

"The judicial bodies should have dealt with this girl as the victim rather than the culprit."

The lawyer also said that his client his will appeal against the decision to increase her punishment.

Segregation laws

According to the Arab News newspaper, the 19-year-old woman, who is from Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, was gang-raped 14 times in an attack in Qatif in the eastern province a year-and-a-half ago.

Seven men from the majority Sunni community were found guilty of the rape and sentenced to prison terms ranging from just under a year to five years.

The rapists' sentences were also doubled by the court. Correspondents say the sentences were still low considering the rapists could have faced the death penalty.

The rape victim was punished for violating Saudi Arabia's laws on segregation that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other. She was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for being in the car of a strange man.

On appeal, the Arab News reported that the punishment was not reduced but increased to 200 lashes and a six-month prison sentence.

'Personal views'

Mr Lahem accused the court of letting personal views influence its decision:

"It seems that the sentence was influenced by the fact that the woman escalated the issue with her lawyer and also with the supreme judicial authorities," he said.

"This is astonishing because justice is supposed to be independent from all pressures as well as personal considerations, be it a feeling towards the lawyer or defendant herself," he added.

The Arab News quoted an official as saying the judges had decided to punish the girl for trying to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media.

Mr Lahem said that the judges' decision to confiscate his license to work and stop him from representing his client is illegal.

From BBC

Continued (Permanent Link)

Sex and the Palestinians - Porno extortion tapes

Ma'ariv 27 June, 2007 (Hebrew)

 "Sex and the PNA"
Amit Kohen
According to Fatah security apparatus orders, it was important to duly destroy any sensitive document or material before it fell into the hands of the Hamas. Now, however, it appears that not only intelligence material was stored at command headquarters and that not just weapons and documents have fallen into Hamas men's hands, but also a real treasure of a different kind: tens of sex tapes documenting the deeds of much of the senior Palestinian leadership.

Most of the tapes show Palestinian seniors cheating on their wives. Of course, these materials were regarded as explosive stuff in the Palestinian arena, which is particularly sensitive to moral violations. The embarrassing tapes shot secretly were used as a means to extort and pressure various different targets, who necessarily feared any repercussions from both a personal and public angle. It appears that security officials also used the photos to procure benefits and recruit agents from among political rivals both in Fatah and Hamas.

Internal disputes within Fatah led to a situation whereby every senior would try to collect damaging material on his opponent within the organization. This, for example, is the reason why a senior
minister in one of the Fatah governments was among those taped. Another victim is a very senior officer from the Palestinian security mechanism, who was apparently taped by someone from a rival
organization.

Targets within Hamas were also marked; for example, security officials taped a well known Hamas member in Gaza engaged in sexual intercourse with a young woman. Afterwards, he was presented with the tape and given two choices: cooperate with us, or we reveal the pictures. Having no choice, the Hamas man agreed to become an agent for the security mechanisms and to transfer them information on his organization.

An official of the Hamas military arm confirmed the existence of the tapes, and even admitted to watching a few of them. "Whatever is happening there doesn't make sense," he said, adding: "These are respected individuals, including even former ministers. We saw on tape people whom we never imagined would be duped this way." The victims were documented in various different places -in their homes, in hotels, and even in offices.

 

"I saw footage of a doctor taped in action in his office at the hospital," said the Hamas man. The fact that even doctors are documented attests to the scope of the extortion industry. "It was a real business," he said, adding that "very beautiful girls were involved; naturally, if one of them is brought to a senior, she will be of superior quality." He says that some of the girls are from Gaza or Palestinians who returned to the territories from abroad and "in some cases, professional girls were brought in from abroad especially."

Ironically, the means of extortion are now in Hamas's hands. Although the organization's members won't openly admit it, they benefit from the use of dubious means of pressure. "Many Fatah men who fled the Gaza Strip now have their lips sealed," said the Hamas man with satisfaction. "They don't dare attack us in the media, because they know what we've got. They are afraid that if they talk, we will reveal the materials in our possession."

All of the embarrassing tapes are now in the hands of the Izz-adeen al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military arm, which values them hightly. "Who knows? Maybe one day we will make use of them," says the Hamas man smugly.

Continued (Permanent Link)

Palestinian Critique: Prostitution and corruption in the Palestinian authority

A Palestinian writer tells us of life in the PA ( source: kawther.info/K20070108A.html). PA goombas prostitute their wives, control journalists.... Following are excerpts from the account of Kawther Salam:

...Some readers may have asked themselves why I waited so long before deciding to write anything about these crimes. Simply said, I had working engagements with Palestinian newspapers I was instructed to never write or say anything critical about the PA, never to criticize the Palestinian patriarchal system and the discrimination of women in my writings. At the same time, I experienced many troubles due my journalistic work because I am a woman. I have put my life and my family in big danger many times due to this work. For example, my mother, aged over 80, received a "friendly visit" due to this article....

Under the PA, social progress in Palestine has been turned back over 50 years. There is no real difference between the PA and Mafia gangs. The uncounted military systems established under the corrupt PA and financed by funds from the EU and other international agencies are in reality criminals, thieves (among other things of Israeli cars, with full connivance of officials on both sides), murderers, sexual perverts and gangsters. The proliferation of "military" systems established under the PA, which cannot be considered as a State, does not exist in the biggest countries in the world. All this and more contributed to last years election, in which the PA was voted out of power. While the Hamas are troubling in their own way, they are widely seen as less corrupt and much less likely to sell us out to the occupation. This was enough for assorted imbeciles in western state chanceries to declare them "terrorists" and subject all Palestinians to a genocidal embargo and continued incursions against civilians by the Israeli army.

Today I spoke with somebody from my homeland. As always, I asked about the situation. This call brought me some horrible news about another crime perpetrated by people from the military organizations of the PA. I am sure that the Palestinian newspapers and the Arab Media will not dare to publish such a story. The story, which was related to me, is just one example of the horrible things, which these people are doing.

Mr. Audeh (first name withheld for fear of retribution) is an officer with the National Security Forces of the PA in Bethlehem. He was a well-known criminal before the PA employed him as an officer. This criminal married three times. He divorced the first wife, she was his cousin. The second wife has a child; he stole the gold from her dowry on the first day of their marriage, during even the marriage festivities. The third marriage was without the knowledge of his second wife, a simple woman from a village near Hebron.

This criminal "National Security" officer proceeded to force his third wife to engage in prostitution, to render sexual favors to his "friends". He would film her during these encounters and spread the film to the public, taking money for copies. The family of this third wife, the victim of his criminal activities, received a copy of one of these films showing this shameless behavior. Consequently, they slaughtered the daughter, cut her head, and portrayed themselves as heroes. They were very proud of what they did. There is no law that protects the victims in such a case. Such crimes are always "justified". They call it "honor killing".

There were hundreds of Palestinian women killed by their families during the Al-Aqsa Intifada and since the time PA had the power to establish the military system. The PA employees are directly responsible for causing the honor killings of women in Palestine. The PA employees customarily abuse women sexually, especially women who work in the same offices, or women who come to ask for public services at the PA offices.

The PA always protects their criminals. Persons belonging to the military should be sentenced if they violate the military and civilian laws, but this never happens. In cases when Palestinian woman are abused sexually, the headquarters of the Palestinian military does nothing. The National Security officer from Bethlehem who forced his wife into prostitution and was thus the direct causant for her family killing her in order to clean the family honor, was not sentenced. He is currently in jail, but he still receives his full salary, which is financed by European countries. The PA will leave him free of any charges, as he has other relatives working with the PA, and these relative protect him from the consequences of his crime. The slaughtered wife who he forced to sell sexual favors to others should not be held responsible for what happened to her.

The second wife, who was left with a child and was betrayed by her husband, asked an Islamic Judge for a divorce on grounds that her husband had stolen her gold on the first day of her marriage, and also on grounds of his criminal behavior which caused the death for his third wife. However, she will not be free. While the Islamic law gives the husband the power of the divorce, there is no justice at the Islamic courts. The justice of Islam is just a rule written in the books, to which women seldom have access.

Under the PA, many military systems have been established; thousands of employees receive a salary at the end of the month, while in reality they do nothing more than posing the affluent class of Palestinian civil society. Here are the names of some of the military systems that were established under the PA:

The Presidential Forces Unit; The Presidential Security; The "Nobility Security"; The Intelligence Forces of the President; Military Intelligence; Military Police Unit; 17 Forces Unit; Marine Forces; The Special Forces; The National Security forces; The Alternative Security System; The Emergency Forces; The Military Tax Unit; The Disturbance Forces; The Quick Reaction Forces; The Border Police; The Public Security Forces; The Palestinian-Israeli Military Coordinating Unit which is a spy unit working in DCO building together with Israeli army. The Israelis use these officers as spies, and when the oppose, they are dismissed. It is important to keep in mind that this proliferation of "military" and "security" units goes on while there is no real, sovereign government, or President, in Palestine. All functionaries from all branches of the "government", from the President down, must get permission from Israel for every move they make, if they want to move between different Palestinian cities, if they want to travel, if they want to say anything in public.

No to the US Presence in Palestine !

In addition, the US, Israel and the PA are coordinating with the Jordanian military to get the "Bader" Brigades into Palestine. Before that, the U.S sent us a military coordinator and representative, the corrupt war criminal General Keith Dayton. Before that, they sent us an "economic coordinator", Mr. James Wolfensohn. Most Palestinians do not welcome these American criminals coordinating the destruction of their homeland. They strongly condemn the acceptance the PA has given these "coordinators".

General Keith Dayton was involved in crimes against humanity in Iraq, where is responsible for the widespread use of torture against civilians in Abu Ghraib and other places, for jumpstarting the activities of an array of death squads, and for the constant flow of giant car bombs which are detonated among civilians and are invariably labeled as attentates from either the Shia or Sunni groups against each other. He is now training the PA military units how to fight against Hamas and the Palestinian civil society. He has gained experience in organizing death squads and genocide in Iraq. Because of these criminal skills he was sent to "coordinate activities" in Palestine. He represents American tax dollars at work, paying for murder and crimes on a vast scale.

Since the establishment of the PA they have neglected building and organizing the civil society in Palestine. The PA neglects the creation of a functioning of justice system; they neglect the protection of human rights and the reconstruction of a system of civil laws. The Palestinian military systems are completely paralyzed and corrupt. Their main occupations (and duties) are to steal from and to make life impossible for Palestinian civilians. The work of the police officers is seen as a clear problem in the middle of the Palestinian cities. At the end of the month, they have to get their salary before the employees from the civilian organizations get their salaries. Worse of all, Palestinian security units, military and police alike, are never present to protect anybody from the incursions of the Israeli army and the crimes of the illegal jewish colonists. I remember not one instance when one of these jewish terrorists have been even warned for an acto of terrorism, for theft, for murder. The situation with the corruption of the "government" was the real reason behind the break-out of the second Intifada.

The Palestinian Police system is corrupt. Briberies have replaced the law. If someone wants to visit their relatives in jail, the wife of a prisoner is obliged to give sexual favors to police officers. Police officers lead gangs of drug pushers and thieves who steal cars from Israel. The former Police officer Gazi Al-Jabali was a very big corruptionist person. The Israeli military confiscated millions of his wealth, which they found in his house during a search by the military. These millions had been looted from poor Palestinians in Gaza. I wonder why we need these military systems...

The Composition of the PA military organizations

The Palestinian military organizations, paid by the European countries and other International funds, can be classified in these groups: The military groups that came ("returned") with Arafat, were brought from other Arab countries. These people are rabble recruited in other Arab countries and given some military training. They are lacking in intelligence, education or culture, and they integrate poorly into Palestinian society. They speak a different dialect of Arabic; some of them have other nationalities. These military groups often trained and served with the armies of other corrupt Arab dictatorships. They come to Palestine without their own families and they suffer of psychological problems because of that. These people often marry with Palestinian women in a second marriage, but most of these marriages end in divorce because of cultural differences or because of the psychological problems, which these men have to start with.

The career military officers who are from Palestine and loyal to Palestinians, who often have better education, are separated from there work or frozen in lower echelons as they considered a threat to the PA and the corrupt officers brought from outside. The same is valid for the civilian posts: the corrupt people, spies and criminals are given high positions, the honest people are left in low positions or pushed out by use of whatever pretexts.

The Palestinians who were jailed during the first Intifada or killed Israelis, were automatically engaged by the PA military and given officers rank. The Israelis had tortured most of these people during their stay in Israeli jails, they suffered different mental diseases as a consequence. Apart from that, the Israelis only released the people who agreed to spy for them.

All the criminals, the cars thieves, the unemployed, the illiterates were automatically engaged in the PA military and police. Mohammad Dahlan, who had been a small-time gangster in Gaza before the Israelis, Americans and Europeans discovered him as "somebody they could do business with", brought in many criminals to work under his command. He established death squads which have been involved in kidnappings and killings of civilians in Gaza. One recent murder attributed to Dahlan's death squads has been reported here and attributed to "unidentified gunmen".

Some of the PA officers were sent for training, but I know of no Palestinian officer who has attended a college military school. Some of them get some training by the USA, Britain, or in other Arab countries. Most of these officers do not speak a second language and have not finish school. To be an officer in the PA means to be a murderer, a criminal, or a relative of somebody who works in the PA.
...
Hamas is not a real alternative to the PA, but less corrupt.

Hat tip

Cross posted: Israel News Midde East Analysis

Continued (Permanent Link)

Half-naked soldiers: Israel's latest propaganda campaign

The parts I liked best:

" One of the models who took part in the photo shoot said that "this particular bit of bikini modelling draws from the same spirit as the original Israeli settlers." She even said that it is "an act of Zionism."

---

Nothing like doing it for old glory.

"

"I wonder if the best way to encourage tourism is by advertising sex," said Labour party MP Colette Avital."

It is probably better than advertising war. On the other hand, encouraging tourism is not necessarily the major goal and rationale for existence of the Israeli government.

Al Jazeera is just jealous, but don't worry, the Saudi government is promising a Burqa fashion show. The Hamas will demonstrate the sexiness of female suicide bombers as well. That ought to draw big crowds.

Ami

Half-naked soldiers: Israel's latest propaganda campaign

Source: aljazeera.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=13922

23/06/2007 09:22:00 AM GMT Comments (27) Add a comment

All the models are said to have served in the Israeli Defence Force

"I wonder if the best way to encourage tourism is by advertising sex," said Labour party MP Colette Avital.

By Karima Saifullah

The Israeli government is desperate to improve its image and manipulate people who only link the Jewish state with wars, occupation and brutal aggression against the Palestinians. Recent polls show that Israel isn't well-regarded in the country's closest ally, the United States, where the majority of young men believe that the Jewish state is "too religious and too militaristic."

In an attempt to improve its tainted image, the Israeli consulate in New York came up with what could be described as a cheap idea: resorting to pornography by publishing images of half-naked female soldiers in the U.S. men's magazine Maxim; a move that was strongly condemned by Israel's religious right, who said that the government was degrading the Jewish state and promoting sex tourism.

"We found that Israel's image among men aged 18-38 is lacking, so we thought we'd approach them with an image they'd find appealing," said David Saranga, consul for media and public affairs at the Israeli consulate.

Maxim magazine, which promises its readers "girls, sex, sports" and usually avoids politics, initially refused the Israeli consulate's request to publish the photographs, but it changed its mind after it saw the pictures of 12 of Israel's top models.

"The Israeli models", Saranga said, were a "Trojan horse" to present Israel as a modern country with pretty women.

The photo feature, entitled "Women of the Israeli Defense Forces", will be published in Maxim's July issue. One of four former female soldiers photographed in their underwear in the magazine, Yarden, describes how she enjoyed firing her M16 rifle before she entered the military intelligence corp. Israeli model Nivit Bash - who served in Israeli military intelligence – also says sthat her job in intelligence was so secret that she cannot talk about it.

According to The Guardian, most Israeli women do compulsory military service for two years from the age of 18. While they do not fight in combat units, they undergo basic training and can be seen at checkpoints in the occupied West Bank. However, there is nothing military about the indecent photographs, which were taken in different locations in Tel Aviv.

Not everyone in Israel is excited about this cheap tourism campaign. Zahava Gal On, the leader of the Meretz party, said it's inappropriate for Israel to market itself using half-naked women. "It is unfortunate that the New York Consulate thinks that Israel's relevance will be expressed by the use of naked women who are treated as an object, and not as women of substance who exude achievement and success," she said.

Colette Avital, a member of the Labour party and the first woman to seek Israel's presidency, described the move as a "pornographic campaign sponsored by the Foreign and Tourism Ministries to encourage tourism".

"Israel's image has been tainted by sex-scandals involving high-ranking officials as it is. I wonder if the best way to encourage tourism is by advertising sex," she said.

Avital has already approached Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik and demanded an urgent meeting be called to discuss the campaign which Israel's Tourism Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich said the ministry has nothing to do with.

It's not the first time that Israel has used sex to advertise itself. The Israeli Ministry of Tourism has an advertising contract with Arsenal FC to promote Israel which features women in swimsuits. Israel wants to sell itself as a western country with beaches and nightclubs rather than a country full of religious sites which has been in a permanent state of emergency since its creation.

Despite the criticism over the naked photo shoot, Ambassador Arye Mekel, consul-general of Israel in New York, defended the consulate's decision and said: "Israel is always mentioned in the context of wars and violence. We want to show there is a normal life. Among the beautiful things we have are our women."

"This is the first time we used the word 'shoot' in connection to Israel and we're not talking about killing people," he added.

Former Miss Israel Gal Gadot also defended the campaign, arguing that she just used her "assets" to improve Israel's war-torn image.

One interesting fact is that all the outrage in Israel is focused on the idea of using women as sex objects to promote tourism. But what's more shocking is that sex here is not just being used to "improve" Israel's image, but also to promote Zionism and gloss over the bitter realities of Israel's occupation and apartheid.

One of the models who took part in the photo shoot said that "this particular bit of bikini modelling draws from the same spirit as the original Israeli settlers." She even said that it is "an act of Zionism."

"The fact that I can represent this country makes me proud," said Tali Handel, a 25-year-old former air force sergeant.

Although she said she'd never heard of Maxim before, Handel expected the article would be "serious" and encourage young Jewish males living in the United States to consider moving to Israel. "I don't see anything negative about it. Nothing else brings [people] here, not Jerusalem, not the beautiful nature. People are not interested. So, I think it's okay to use something else to bring them."

Continued (Permanent Link)

Saudi cleric: Islam reveals the truth about women - they are twisted

"It [Islam] has shown that the twisted nature of women stems from their very creation." Not a quote from Steve Emerson or Pat Robertson, but from a Saudi cleric.

A great tradition, worthy of liberal support - and beloved by all men, surely. Alhamdillah - where do we sign up?

Solomonia gives us this:

Saudi Cleric: Wimins is Shtoopid, and Dats Why We Loves 'Em

MEMRI TV:Saudi Cleric Abd Al-Aziz Al-Fawzan: Husbands Should Put Up with Their Wives' Slips and Errors, Because the Twisted Nature of Women Stems from Their Very Creation

The following are excerpts from a lecture delivered by Saudi cleric Abd Al-Aziz Al-Fawzan, which aired on Al-Majd TV on June 11, 2007. It is followed by links to other MEMRI TV clips of Saudi cleric Abd Al-Aziz Al-Fawzan.

Abd Al-Aziz Al-Fawzan: The Prophet Muhammad said about women: "I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you," and so on. This hadith and others like it were misunderstood by the ignorant. Corrupt people interpreted it in a way that differs from its original intent. Because of their ignorance, their insolence, their stupidity, and because of their enmity towards Islam and Muslims, they turned this hadith into evidence that Islam disgraces women, diminishing her value, and describes her in inadequate terms...

...These hadiths provide some of the most decisive evidence that Islam protects women and guarantees their rights. Islam has surrounded the woman with a fence of compassion and mercy. It has shown that the twisted nature of women stems from their very creation. This is how Allah wanted woman to be. Therefore, the husband must adapt himself to her and be patient with her. He should not give her too many things to do, or things that she is incapable of doing. He should not make her do anything that is contrary to her nature, and to the way she was created by Allah. In addition, he should turn a blind eye to her mistakes, he should tolerate her slips and errors, and [he should] put up with all the silly ignorant things she might say, because this constitutes part of the nature of her creation. In addition, women have surging emotions, which in some cases, might overpower their minds. The weakness with which women were created is the secret behind their attractiveness and appeal to their husbands. It is the source of women's seduction of men, and one of the elements strengthening the bond between husband and wife. This is one of the wondrous miracles of Allah: The strength of a woman lies in her weakness. Her power of seduction and appeal lie in her emotions, which might overpower her mind at times.

Posted by Solomon at June 20, 2007 2:44 PM EDT

Continued (Permanent Link)

Pluralism: Is it OK for Muslims to beat their wives in Germany?

The Guardian seems to be outraged by the decision of a German judge, not to grant a divorce to a Muslim woman whose husband beat her, because the the Qur'an permits wife beating. It is an interesting ruling that illustates what happens if multicultural pluralism is carried to an extreme. What will the judge do if people revive paganism? The ancient Canaanites practiced child sacrifice as well as temple prostitution. The Bible permits polygamy, and as for divorce, it is prohibited expressly by the New Testament, "That which God has joined together, let no man put asunder."

---

German judge invokes Qur'an to deny abused wife a divorce

http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,2040982,00.html

Kate Connolly in Berlin
Friday March 23, 2007
The Guardian

A German judge who refused a Moroccan woman a fast-track divorce on the grounds that domestic violence was acceptable according to the Qur'an has been removed from the case following a nationwide outcry.

The judge, Christa Datz-Winter, said the German woman of Moroccan descent would not be granted a divorce because she and her husband came from a "Moroccan cultural environment in which it is not uncommon for a man to exert a right of corporal punishment over his wife," according to a statement she wrote that was issued by a Frankfurt court. "That's what the claimant had to reckon with when she married the defendant."

The 26-year-old mother of two had been repeatedly beaten and threatened with death by her husband.

When the woman protested against the judge's decision, Ms Datz-Winter invoked the Qur'an to support her argument. In the court she read from verse 34 of Sura four of the Qur'an, An-Nisa (Women), in which men are told to hit their wives as a final stage in dealing with disobedience. The verse reads: "... as to those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them and leave them alone in the sleeping places and beat them".

The woman's lawyer, Barbara Becker-Rojczyk, protested, saying: "When Christians are arguing for a divorce they don't use the Bible."

Commentators, politicians and Muslim leaders criticised the judge's decision, saying that choosing sharia above civil law was a threat to jurisprudence. Wolfgang Bosbach, of the Christian Democratic Union, said: "One thing must be clear: in Germany only German law applies."

Irmingard Schewe-Gerigk, women's affairs spokeswoman for the Greens, agreed, saying: "This decision is in conflict with the basic law."

The woman applied for divorce before the statutory one-year separation after receiving death threats from her husband. Fast-track divorces can be granted under German law if it is deemed the woman is suffering hardship as a result of marital breakdown. Her husband continued to threaten her despite a restraining order.

Christa Stolle, of the women's rights organisation Terre des Femmes, called the decision "scandalous". She said: "In a democratic country like Germany religious law cannot be drawn on to justify abuse".

The leftwing Tageszeitung ran a headline on its front page "In the name of the people: beating allowed" above the relevant passage from the Qur'an, while the tabloid Bild led its front page with: "Where are we living?".

Germany's Central Council of Muslims was quick to criticise the ruling. In a statement, it said: "Violence and abuse of people are of course naturally reasons to warrant a divorce in Islam as well."

Another judge has already been appointed to the case.

Continued (Permanent Link)

Sex, Gender and the Middle East: Happy Women's Day - Saudi Woman gets 90 lashes for being raped

Attention all you progressives and women's rights groups out there. There has been a HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION in the Middle East. A really gross one. Get John Dugard out here double quick. OOPS false alarm, it happened in Saudi Arabia, not Israel. "A Saudi woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint, gang-raped and then beaten by her brother has been sentenced to 90 lashes -- for meeting a man who was not a relative."

Is that a sex crime or a gender crime or what? Or are you just going to ignore it because it happened in Saudi Arabia. BBC and New York Times have apparently chosen to ignore it, so that is the politically correct thing to do.  

From Tom Grossmedia:

Today, March 8, marks International Women's Day. The mainstream media, including the New York Times and the BBC, have -- true to form, since they specialize only in skewering the news against Israel and the U.S.-- completely ignored the news that "A Saudi woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint, gang-raped and then beaten by her brother has been sentenced to 90 lashes -- for meeting a man who was not a relative."

The sentencing earlier this week has been reported by AFP and in Arab media, including the Khaleej Times (published in the United Arab Emirates) and the Saudi Gazette. But as far as I can tell the only Western mainstream media outlets to have covered the story are Fox News and the Scotsman (a Scottish newspaper). This is despite the fact that most Western media subscribe to AFP.

The 19-year-old Saudi woman was abducted by a gang of men wielding kitchen knives who took her to a farm where she was raped 14 times by her captors. Five men were arrested for the rape and given jail terms ranging from 10 months to five years by a panel of judges in the eastern Saudi city of Qatif, near the teenager's hometown.

But the judges also decided to sentence the young woman, identified only as "G," to 90 lashes. "G" was told by one of the judges that she was lucky not to have been given jail time. She said yesterday that she would appeal against her sentence.

The woman told the Saudi Gazette that she tried to commit suicide because of her ordeal and was beaten by her younger brother because the rape had brought shame on their family.

Unrelated men and women are forbidden from interacting in public in Saudi Arabia, which strictly enforces Islamic Sharia law of a kind many European Muslims say they would like to introduce in countries like Britain and France.

* On the official International Women's Day website, there is nothing about Saudi Arabia, just publicity for the "Lighting candles for Women in Palestinian society" event.

From Khaleej Times:

A Saudi woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint, gang-raped and then beaten by her brother has been sentenced to 90 lashes – for a meeting a man who was not a relative, a newspaper reported on Monday.

In an interview with the Saudi Gazette, the 19-year-old said she was blackmailed a year ago into meeting a man who threatened to tell her family they were having a relationship outside wedlock, which is illegal in the ultra-conservative desert kingdom.

After driving off together from a shopping mall near her home, the woman and the man were stopped and abducted by a gang of men wielding kitchen knives who took them to a farm where she was raped 14 times by her captors.

Five men were arrested for the rape and given jail terms ranging from 10 months to five years by a panel of judges in the eastern city of Qatif, near the woman's hometown.

But the judges also decided to sentence the woman, identified by the newspaper only as 'G,' and the man to lashes for being alone together in the car.

Unrelated men and women are forbidden from interacting in public in Saudi Arabia, which strictly enforces Islamic Sharia law.

'G' said one of the judges told she was lucky not to have been given jail time. 'I was shocked at the verdict. I couldn't believe my ears,' said the woman, who has appealed against her sentence.

The woman also told the paper she tried to commit suicide because of her ordeal and was beaten by her younger brother because the rape had brought shame on their family.

Aren't you proud to support progressive causes?

Ami Isseroff

 

Continued (Permanent Link)